Young and impatient. Fed up with childhood. At risk of abuse and assault. All are contributing to a youth homelessness crisis in Bristol, UK, a thriving city with an acute affordable housing problem.
For young people, the siren song of ‘my own space,’ ‘where I can be myself without hassle’ can be as elusive as the end of a rainbow. With little or no resources, ‘my own space’ may be nothing more than a gap between bins in laneway. Bristol is a city where even regular employment is no guarantee of finding and keeping scarce housing.
The situation is growing rapidly worse. A Bristol youth homeless charity has seen a 34% increase in referrals in one year alone. Read more about this crisis in B24/7: BRISTOL’S YOUNG ‘HIDDEN HOMELESS’ CRISIS
The City is now pinning hope on a new counselling service, Bristol Youth MAPS, that will attempt to educate teens who do not face a safety risk at home. Family living may seem far from paradise, but may be heaven compared to huddling from winter cold in the rubbish of a back alley skip.
